Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM; latest edition: <a href="/facts/DSM-5-TR/kwhcSJcg">DSM-5-TR</a>, published in March 2022) is a publication by the <a href="/facts/American_Psychiatric_Association/xn9juNST">American Psychiatric Association</a> (APA) for the <a href="/facts/Classification_of_mental_disorders/Y6lyDmTv">classification of mental disorders</a> using a common language and standard criteria. It is an internationally accepted manual on the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, though it may be used in conjunction with other documents. Other commonly used principal guides of psychiatry include the <a href="/facts/International_Classification_of_Diseases/mxID6rJp">International Classification of Diseases</a> (ICD), <a href="/facts/Chinese_Classification_of_Mental_Disorders/aRSbeojn">Chinese Classification of Mental Disorders</a> (CCMD), and the <a href="/facts/Psychodynamic_Diagnostic_Manual/4J5KyNXd">Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual</a>. However, not all providers rely on the DSM-5 as a guide, since the ICD's mental disorder diagnoses are used around the world, and scientific studies often measure changes in symptom scale scores rather than changes in DSM-5 criteria to determine the real-world effects of mental health interventions.
It is used by researchers, <a href="/facts/Psychiatric_drug/mAkQK0Eh">psychiatric drug</a> regulation agencies, <a href="/facts/Health_insurance/sGeHMbID">health insurance</a> companies, <a href="/facts/Pharmaceutical_companies/5mCITYys">pharmaceutical companies</a>, the legal system, and policymakers. Some mental health professionals use the manual to determine and help communicate a patient's diagnosis after an evaluation. Hospitals, clinics, and insurance companies in the United States may require a DSM diagnosis for all patients with mental disorders. Health-care researchers use the DSM to categorize patients for research purposes.
The DSM evolved from systems for collecting census and <a href="/facts/Psychiatric_hospital/d6BxCD3e">psychiatric hospital</a> statistics, as well as from a <a href="/facts/United_States_Army/WACWBEK9">United States Army</a> manual. Revisions since its first publication in 1952 have incrementally added to the total number of <a href="/facts/Mental_disorders/EPNjFtFf">mental disorders</a>, while removing those no longer considered to be mental disorders.
Recent editions of the DSM have received praise for standardizing psychiatric diagnosis grounded in empirical evidence, as opposed to the theory-bound <a href="/facts/Nosology/j2hKyGaH">nosology</a> (the branch of <a href="/facts/Medical_science/2fnp90Je">medical science</a> that deals with the <a href="/facts/Medical_classification/UVzn2ggP">classification of diseases</a>) used in DSM-III. However, it has also generated controversy and criticism, including ongoing questions concerning the <a href="/facts/Reliability_(statistics)/2QJrAeB5">reliability</a> and <a href="/facts/Validity_(statistics)/9LNgtTUG">validity</a> of many diagnoses; the use of arbitrary dividing lines between mental illness and "<a href="/facts/Normality_(behavior)/5LAJwcA4">normality</a>"; possible <a href="/facts/Cultural_bias/BeTv4b6h">cultural bias</a>; and the <a href="/facts/Medicalization/mJ3w0EWD">medicalization</a> of human distress. The APA itself has published that the inter-rater reliability is low for many disorders in the DSM-5, including <a href="/facts/Major_depressive_disorder/l2lQeWqr">major depressive disorder</a> and <a href="/facts/Generalized_anxiety_disorder/FJRBB4fM">generalized anxiety disorder</a>.

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders open-in-new

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders